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kenyan_cheena · 02-17-2009, 12:03 AM

EL UNIVERSAL

Saturday 10 June 2006

DIAZ DECIMATES
MENETREY AT MSG!

Story by Miguel Trelles

Enrique Diaz sent out a warning shot to every welterweight contender in the International Boxing League last night with a brutal 3rd round TKO of the Frenchman Roger Menetrey at New York's Madison Square Garden. Competing in the quarter-finals of the league's World Welterweight Championship tournament the fiery 27 year-old produced an explosive performance, obliterating the former WBA titleholder with a relentless assault in rounds two and three. Referee Jose Cobian jumped in to stop the carnage at the 2:27 mark with Menetrey out on his feet after absorbing a flush right cross, the shot coming at the end of a flurry of punishing blows. A native of Guadalajara, Diaz was the WBO Welterweight Champion from June 2004 until this past April when he relinquished the belt before signing with the IBL. He defended the WBO belt five times but was vocal and animated during last night's post-fight interview in regards to his ambitions to become not only the IBL's inaugural champion but Mexico's premier boxer. His record is now 29-1(22) while Menetrey fell to 29-4-1(20).

Like so many other boxers over the years Diaz grew up knowing nothing but poverty. The sport has enabled him and his family to escape the hopeless cycle they'd been trapped in for generation after generation. Already a millionaire following his run as the WBO king he earned $512,000 in defeating Menetrey and guaranteed himself to at least double that amount by progressing to the tournament semi-finals. Diaz is trained by his father Hector and was also joined in the ring after the fight by his mother, wife and two young daughters, the sextet the perfect portrait of a contented family as they celebrated his victory. Devoutly religious, Diaz slipped a rosary around his neck moments after the bout's end, his daughter Paulina playing with it as he held her in his arms while speaking to HBO's Mike Sherman.

In the evening's main event Virgin Islands-born New Yorker Emile Griffith turned back a spirited challenge from the talented Philadelphian Meldrick Taylor, the #1 seed winning by majority decision (96-94, 95-95, 97-93). It was a thrilling contest with Griffith outlanding Taylor 244-206, his accuracy overcoming Taylor's busier workrate. After being warned in the 2nd round Griffith was deducted a point for a low blow in the 4th but luckily for him it made no difference to the final result. Like Diaz, Griffith was a reigning champion before signing with the IBL, relinquishing the WBA belt he'd claimed by defeating Menetrey back in 2003. Through the first five rounds the 28 year-old appeared to have everything under control but Taylor finished the fight impressively, winning the bottom five rounds by two points on two scorecards and breaking even on the other. At just 22 years of age he still has a bright future ahead of him but was understandably downcast following the defeat. He's now 22-3(17), Griffith improving his mark to 28-1-1(22).

The night opened with IBL President James Molk in the ring, dressed sharply in a dark pinstriped suit. He thanked the near capacity crowd for their patronage, expressed his happiness with the opening week of league fight cards and declared that "this evening, we get really serious." He went on to say that each of the eight men competing are champions in their own right but the four who achieved success would be "just a single win away from a shot at the world championship, the pinnacle of our sport." Molk thanked the audience again and said he hoped they enjoy the evening before stepping out of the ring and taking his seat at ringside to a warm round of applause. Ten minutes later the combatants for the opening contest had made the walk to the ring and were ready to get it on.

Having lost a unanimous decision verdict in a challenge for Enrique Diaz's WBO belt back in March, Puerto Rico's Carmelo Barea was looking to get back on track as he squared off against Germany's Gustav Eder in a matchup of the tournament's 4th and 5th seeds. Through the first four rounds Barea looked to be in with a great chance, frustrating the former European Champion with his quickness and combinations and building a good lead. Eder needed to turn things around quickly and that's exactly what he did, wrestling the momentum away in the 5th. He kept it through the remainder of the fight, punishing his man and staggering a fading Barea late in the 8th round. Eder withstood a brave but ultimately futile rally in the 9th and then sealed the deal with a dominant final stanza where he cut Barea on the left eyelid. The final scorecards each favoured the German by a 96-94 verdict, the judges not only showing the same scores but also scoring each and every round identically. The win was Eder's 26th against just a single loss, Barea losing for the second time in four months and falling to 25-3-1(17).

Cleveland's Marvyn Rollins achieved a minor upset in the second fight of the night, scoring a split decision win over Ghana's Ike Quartey. It was a terribly difficult bout to score as while Rollins landed his shots with more accuracy and power Quartey outworked him and was the aggressor, Rollins prefering to snipe away at him from the outside and backpedal whenever the African tried to mix it up from in close. Two judges gave Rollins the win by scores of 98-94 while the other favoured Quartey 97-95. Rounds five through seven were the main point of difference and they ultimately swung the verdict Rollins' way. He landed 234 of 719 punches (32.5%), Quartey 173 of 1,053 (16.4%). Now 30-2-1(22) Rollins was jubilant in the moments after the verdict was announced. The Ohio native had lost the slimmest of split decisions to WBA junior-welterweight champion Eddie Perkins on April 15 and could have simply sat back and waited for their planned August rematch. Instead he chose to take a chance, signing with the IBL and stepping back in the ring just eight weeks after the Perkins bout. His gamble has earned him a semi-final clash with Diaz, a bout that will be eagerly anticipated.

***

(4) Gustav Eder UD10 (5) Carmelo Barea
(6) Marvyn Rollins SD10 (3) Ike Quartey
(2) Enrique Diaz TKO3 (7) Roger Menetrey
(1) Emile Griffith MD10 (8) Meldrick Taylor

Semi-Final matchups (to be held 2 September 2006)

(1) Griffith (28-1-1(22)) vs (4) Eder (26-1-0(17))
(2) Diaz (29-1-0(22)) vs (6) Rollins (30-2-1(22))

***

02-17-2009, 12:03 AM	#147 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 7,598 Thanks: 81 Thanked 143x in 125 posts	EL UNIVERSAL Saturday 10 June 2006 DIAZ DECIMATES MENETREY AT MSG! Story by Miguel Trelles Enrique Diaz sent out a warning shot to every welterweight contender in the International Boxing League last night with a brutal 3rd round TKO of the Frenchman Roger Menetrey at New York's Madison Square Garden. Competing in the quarter-finals of the league's World Welterweight Championship tournament the fiery 27 year-old produced an explosive performance, obliterating the former WBA titleholder with a relentless assault in rounds two and three. Referee Jose Cobian jumped in to stop the carnage at the 2:27 mark with Menetrey out on his feet after absorbing a flush right cross, the shot coming at the end of a flurry of punishing blows. A native of Guadalajara, Diaz was the WBO Welterweight Champion from June 2004 until this past April when he relinquished the belt before signing with the IBL. He defended the WBO belt five times but was vocal and animated during last night's post-fight interview in regards to his ambitions to become not only the IBL's inaugural champion but Mexico's premier boxer. His record is now 29-1(22) while Menetrey fell to 29-4-1(20). Like so many other boxers over the years Diaz grew up knowing nothing but poverty. The sport has enabled him and his family to escape the hopeless cycle they'd been trapped in for generation after generation. Already a millionaire following his run as the WBO king he earned $512,000 in defeating Menetrey and guaranteed himself to at least double that amount by progressing to the tournament semi-finals. Diaz is trained by his father Hector and was also joined in the ring after the fight by his mother, wife and two young daughters, the sextet the perfect portrait of a contented family as they celebrated his victory. Devoutly religious, Diaz slipped a rosary around his neck moments after the bout's end, his daughter Paulina playing with it as he held her in his arms while speaking to HBO's Mike Sherman. In the evening's main event Virgin Islands-born New Yorker Emile Griffith turned back a spirited challenge from the talented Philadelphian Meldrick Taylor, the #1 seed winning by majority decision (96-94, 95-95, 97-93). It was a thrilling contest with Griffith outlanding Taylor 244-206, his accuracy overcoming Taylor's busier workrate. After being warned in the 2nd round Griffith was deducted a point for a low blow in the 4th but luckily for him it made no difference to the final result. Like Diaz, Griffith was a reigning champion before signing with the IBL, relinquishing the WBA belt he'd claimed by defeating Menetrey back in 2003. Through the first five rounds the 28 year-old appeared to have everything under control but Taylor finished the fight impressively, winning the bottom five rounds by two points on two scorecards and breaking even on the other. At just 22 years of age he still has a bright future ahead of him but was understandably downcast following the defeat. He's now 22-3(17), Griffith improving his mark to 28-1-1(22). The night opened with IBL President James Molk in the ring, dressed sharply in a dark pinstriped suit. He thanked the near capacity crowd for their patronage, expressed his happiness with the opening week of league fight cards and declared that "this evening, we get really serious." He went on to say that each of the eight men competing are champions in their own right but the four who achieved success would be "just a single win away from a shot at the world championship, the pinnacle of our sport." Molk thanked the audience again and said he hoped they enjoy the evening before stepping out of the ring and taking his seat at ringside to a warm round of applause. Ten minutes later the combatants for the opening contest had made the walk to the ring and were ready to get it on. Having lost a unanimous decision verdict in a challenge for Enrique Diaz's WBO belt back in March, Puerto Rico's Carmelo Barea was looking to get back on track as he squared off against Germany's Gustav Eder in a matchup of the tournament's 4th and 5th seeds. Through the first four rounds Barea looked to be in with a great chance, frustrating the former European Champion with his quickness and combinations and building a good lead. Eder needed to turn things around quickly and that's exactly what he did, wrestling the momentum away in the 5th. He kept it through the remainder of the fight, punishing his man and staggering a fading Barea late in the 8th round. Eder withstood a brave but ultimately futile rally in the 9th and then sealed the deal with a dominant final stanza where he cut Barea on the left eyelid. The final scorecards each favoured the German by a 96-94 verdict, the judges not only showing the same scores but also scoring each and every round identically. The win was Eder's 26th against just a single loss, Barea losing for the second time in four months and falling to 25-3-1(17). Cleveland's Marvyn Rollins achieved a minor upset in the second fight of the night, scoring a split decision win over Ghana's Ike Quartey. It was a terribly difficult bout to score as while Rollins landed his shots with more accuracy and power Quartey outworked him and was the aggressor, Rollins prefering to snipe away at him from the outside and backpedal whenever the African tried to mix it up from in close. Two judges gave Rollins the win by scores of 98-94 while the other favoured Quartey 97-95. Rounds five through seven were the main point of difference and they ultimately swung the verdict Rollins' way. He landed 234 of 719 punches (32.5%), Quartey 173 of 1,053 (16.4%). Now 30-2-1(22) Rollins was jubilant in the moments after the verdict was announced. The Ohio native had lost the slimmest of split decisions to WBA junior-welterweight champion Eddie Perkins on April 15 and could have simply sat back and waited for their planned August rematch. Instead he chose to take a chance, signing with the IBL and stepping back in the ring just eight weeks after the Perkins bout. His gamble has earned him a semi-final clash with Diaz, a bout that will be eagerly anticipated. * (4) Gustav Eder UD10 (5) Carmelo Barea (6) Marvyn Rollins SD10 (3) Ike Quartey (2) Enrique Diaz TKO3 (7) Roger Menetrey (1) Emile Griffith MD10 (8) Meldrick Taylor Semi-Final matchups (to be held 2 September 2006) (1) Griffith (28-1-1(22)) vs (4) Eder (26-1-0(17)) (2) Diaz (29-1-0(22)) vs (6) Rollins (30-2-1(22)) * __________________ The Greatest Prize in Sports (a TBCB Dynasty) The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac kenyan_cheena's NBA 2K11 Off Topic Dynasty Major League Baseball: 1990 and Beyond... (an OOTP11 Dynasty)